Festivals & Awards
81st Venice International Film Festival 2024 (Nominations: Queer Lion & Venice Horizon Award)
29th Busan International Film Festival 2024
“a vital social drama in the body of a crime thriller… ”
Deepak Rauniyar’s third feature is a thriller of byzantine complexity headlined by a queer police detective, set amidst Nepal’s 2015 ethnic-minority movements… Pooja, Sir has the feel and crisp visuals of a commercial thriller(-lite)… forget momos and Mount Everest: this is your mini crash course on the Nepal of today.
The close proximity camerawork employed by Sheldon Chau, coupled with the fact that the frame is often reduced by foreground intrusions, lend Pooja, Sir an intense and often claustrophobic feel… the ensemble performances from the cast, including Dayahang Rai, are strong and the central case plays out with style.
Nepal’s ‘Pooja, Sir’ is a vital social drama in the body of a crime thriller… a tense police procedural, is an accomplished examination of power — Magrati is magnificent in the role, approaching it with poise and purpose.